Bass fishing question?

I’m the first to admit that I’m no largemouth fisherman, and I need someone who is to explain this slop bite to me.I’ve fished pool 10 for well, let’s just say a long time, and never fished for largemouths. What is slop and how do you fish it?….B

Slop fishing is used to describe when you are fishing an area where there is moss(duckwart) or pads, all clumped to together and covers the water. There may be some pockets of open water, but most of the water will have a green covering to it.
On the Mississippi River there many patches of “slop,” that is why you need to relate other things to this. Such as other cover, depth, flow, or pockets. Also if the fish want the bait you will know, so if you don’t get bit, move to a different area.
The main tactic to fish for “slop” bass is to use a soft hollow bodied rat. There are many comapnies out there that make these. I like the Southern Pro, Scum frog in white, brown, gray, or black.
For equipment, I would suggest a baitcasting reel on a 7’6″ heavy rod. I like 20-50 lb. Power Pro line on my reel.
Now, too fish the frog, you cast it out and reel it across the moss, or skip it, you just let the fish dictate what they want. When a fish hits, count to two and set the hook, or until you feel the fish. If the fish missess your frog then you can either cast your frog back over where the fish hit and let your frog sit in the blow up hole and just shake it, this drives them wild. Another option is to pitch a plastic bait into the hole. I like a brush hog or an RC Tackle tube craw.
Whether you get a fish on the frog or on a plastic bait flipped in there. You need to hook that fish good, and get them up and out of the jungle of weeds underneath the water. If need be trolling motor to where the fish is.
This method of fishing is very popular and is a very exciting way to fish for bass on the Mississippi River.
Any other questions let me know.

Way cool Bass Boy !!

I wanna play

Hey bass boy, Thanks for the quick lesson!!! I suppose the high water will change the slop fishing quickly. I’m gonna try it next year, if current near slop is a plus,I’m thinking that the water north of the Ambro Slough would be a good place to start ? I will be on pool 10 this weekend, but I will be in the mudhen area hunting, fishing will wait till next weekend or more civilized water, wichever comes first..Thanks Again……B

We have a cabin on the Ambro, so I know that area pretty good. With this highwater and fast current, all of the slop is going to be moving downstream, bass fishing now is going to be tough. The bass want to be on points and flats, but the majority of this structure will have too much water on it. Once you find the fish, they should hit. But this water is going up and up every day, hopefully it doesn’t go over the road into our cabin.

What is the purpose of bass living in the Slop.
First it is because they are relating to cover and relating to food sources. Crayfish live in the weeds and especially like Duck Weed since the pulp is an abundant food source. While I agree with your overall techniques I have to say that current really has nothing to do with the bass except in areas that don’t offer sufficient Dissolved Oxygen Meaning if in the summer it is t shallow and has NO flowage than yep they will often be near high DO areas but this is typically only a factor when darkness is blanketing the river. After sufficient light and about 1.5 hours the aquatic vegetation then has produced ample DO to sustain comfortable living arrangements. Do bass move through this matt all summer? Yep, you bet they do. Do you often catch bass in vegetation next to current, next to deep holes and the other? , yep. Do you catch resident fish clear in the back of the backwater? Yep again. Will they be deep in the overhead canopy first thing in the AM? Are you figuring I will say yep again?
This answer is it depends on the depth of the water in the area. –grin-

Bass Boy,
Keep up the good work but don’t let yourself get caught up in the “what others say” and you will surpass your peers quickly in ability. Next time you are looking for the slop fish think to yourself… Is there ample DO. Is there a food source. Is there appropriate cover.
.If you are answering yes to these then work the area harder because there ARE fish there. These are quite general statements but if all the needs are met you will find fish and don’t limit your fishing to “things Such as other cover, depth, flow, or pockets”. You forgot Pressure…. In the slop you need to check it all.
Jc

Hey bass boy, My Grandparents had a trailer in the Ambro several years ago, back when part of the arm was owned by Warren Shawley. You don’t look old enough to remember that, but I do,and one of the things I remember best is the C.O.E.’s uncanny way of raising the river over the island on holiday weekends. I spent many holidays pulling the trailer out and tying the dock to a tree. Glad to hear from another “true” river rat ..B

Big B,
I hear what you are saying. This summer the water stage only got as low as 7.8ish for like a day and usually it is around 7 all summer. Ever since I was little, I have been going to my grandparents cabin on the ambro. Glad to hear from you.

Hey Glenn ,
When I was up there in Ambro alot of the cabins were being raised up and or being worked on .Did they get flooded this spring ? Lots of nice cabins there.

Dave,
Not this spring, but the one before that, there was alot of water over there. Are cabin wasn’t raised yet, so we got about 3 feet of water in it. We raised ours now and is high off the ground, along with most of the rest of the ambro now.